Police Brutality (and Atrocity) Blog

Friday, August 22, 2014

DailyKos editor Chris Bowers has originated DaikyKos' own petition about Ferguson, MO, urging readers to contact Attorney General Eric Holder, but also requesting donations to "keep DailyKos strong". DailyKos rejected linking directly to an earlier and substantially similar petition by Color of Change.

Although the DailyKos e-mail requests donations to DailyKos, it does not mention the Michael Brown Memorial Fund at Go Fund Me, created to receive donations for the benefit and education of Michael Brown's siblings.

This appears to me to be rank opportunism on the part of DailyKos. A 97% white readership blog seeks to raise money for its own coffers, hijacking efforts started and daily maintained by humble Black protesters, Black elected officials and community leaders, online Black Tweeters and advocacy groups.

Although it might otherwise be commendable for DailyKos to take a position in this case, it could have better helped to promote the much discussed "conversation" on skin color by linking to and directing contributions through the Black organization Color of Change, instead of linking to the white organization ActBlue while requesting donations for the virtually all-white DailyKos.

It is my contention that making any contribution to DailyKos only supports and encourages the blog apartheid that DailyKos has practiced since its inception.

Although the argument has been raised that DailyKos cannot be a white anti-Black antagonist blog because its owner is Latino, Markos Moulitsas has specifically disavowed being any kind of minority in the past. http://goo.gl/FxDzbd

In the fifth article of a series of four commissioned articles for his college newspaper, Markos C. A. Moulitsas, announced his intention to withdraw again into "detached selfishness", grateful that he was not one of "them" (the minorities),

Wednesday, July 23, 2014

A simple formula explains oppressive, brutal and violent police behavior: The cost of abuse is low (virtually 0% chance of punishment equals almost certain impunity) while the rewards for oppression are high, because oppression IS THE JOB. Police oppress and society ratifies the oppression by continuing to pay individual officers.

Pedophile priests do not rape little boys because the priests lack training. They rape little boys because the priests are pedophiles and because they work within an organization that accepts, defends and rewards their behavior, for example, by relocating priests after they have raped boys to a new location where no one will suspect the danger and their pedophilia can continue unabated.

Pedophile priests do not rape children in spite of training. They rape children because the church permits them to do so and because their practical training tells them that there will be no consequences and may even be rewards for their behavior. Relocating a pedophile is a reward and reinforcement that encourages and enables pedophiles to continue.

Likewise, police who engage in oppression within the community are not doing so in spite of what they are taught. They are doing so because of what they are taught.

The United States has the largest prison population in the world, exceeding that of China even though China's population is four times larger than that of the United States. Half of the United States prison population is Black.

Police can arrest people, but they cannot charge them, sentence them or imprison them. Society ratifies the behavior of police officers when prosecutors, judges and juries and prison wardens or corporations each play their role in the oppression of the imprisoned. Police behave as they do because they are part of an institutional approach to Black people that says that Black people should be in jail. Likewise, the slave catchers of the antebellum period were not rogue men of evil. They were supported by the national Fugitive Slave Act and by a finely woven network of state and federal laws and customs intended to subjugate and maintain the oppressed role of Blacks.

Slave overseers were not brutal because they were poorly trained. They were brutal because it was a function of their job, with the goal of breaking the slaves' temptation to resist.

Lack of training is often called the problem in police brutality cases, but that like saying that bank robbers rob banks because they are poorly trained criminals. Many videos show police officers engaging in behavior that any member of the public with no police training at all immediately understands is beyond the pale.

The skin color of the victims of police brutality is also important, although class counts as well. When my mother went on talk radio to discuss police brutality in our city, we found many whites who reported brutality as well. However, if whites were abused at the rates that Blacks were, there would have been a hue and cry far larger than actually occurred. Sometimes, low-income whites are the victims of police brutality, but not nearly on the scale that Blacks are.

Many Blacks are in jail simply because the police, once having beaten the hell out of a suspect, then charge the suspect with resisting arrest and assaulting an officer, in order to justify the police's own brutal and outrageous behavior.

The only way for oppressed people to decrease police brutality is by increasing the cost of this behavior both for the individual police officers involved and for society as a whole. In the nineteen-sixties, riots were a mostly unsuccessful attempt to increase the cost of police brutality, as they were often set off by outrageous examples of police behavior. Today, it is not clear what efforts are being made to increase the cost of systemic police brutality for the individual officers who do it for for the society that supports, underwrites and ratifies the behavior of individual officer.

In the current atmosphere of virtual impunity for police officers and the society they represent, the cost of police brutality still does not exceed the perceived benefits in terms of subjugation and oppression of discreet minorities such as Blacks and Latinos.

Monday, August 12, 2013

Kass: Was police killing of 95-year-old necessary?

Common sense tells me that cops don't need a Taser or a shotgun to subdue a 95-year-old man.

August 02, 2013|John Kass

The old man, described by a family member as "wobbly" on his feet, had refused medical attention. The paramedics were called. They brought in the Park Forest police.

First they tased him, but that didn't work. So they fired a shotgun, hitting him in the stomach with a bean-bag round. Wrana was struck with such force that he bled to death internally, according to the Cook County medical examiner.

"The Japanese military couldn't get him at the age he was touchable, in a uniform in the war. It took 70 years later for the Park Forest police to do the job,"

Wrana's family attorney, Nicholas Grapsas, a former prosecutor, said in an interview with me Thursday.

Wrana's family wants answers. The Illinois State Police are investigating the horrific incident but won't comment, and neither will the Park Forest police pending the outcome of the inquiry.

I wasn't at the scene, and maybe the police have a good explanation. But common sense tells me that cops don't need a Taser or a shotgun to subdue a 95-year-old man.

Monday, May 20, 2013

RE: Fort Worth man dies after being shocked by policeTaserCommentary by Eddie Griffin

A disabled African-Americanman was tasered to death by the Fort Worth Police Department. Jermaine Darden, age34, a 300-pound asthmatic on a breathing machine, was wrestled to the floor andtased, after police kicked in his unlocked front door on a “no-knock” warrant. Officersclaimed he was resisting arrest when he would not comply with their order to rollover on his stomach. But family members claimed the man was having breathing problems,which were especially aggravated when he tries to lie on his stomach.

Darden’s mother, Donna Randledescribes what happen: “When they came in, they hadtheir weapons drawn like we were members of a drug cartel. There were sixpeople who told the police the man had health problems, yet they continued todo what they did.”

She is nowasking why the police had to “use such excessive force.”

The incidenttook place in the same neighborhood where Michael Jacobs, Jr., a 24-year old mentallychallenged African-American, was tasered to death by police in April, 2009. TheCity of Fort Worth eventually had to pay a $2 million settlement to the family.

Darden would bethe seventh taser related death in the city’s history.

There have beenseveral attempts by the community to reconcile with the FWPD over raciallycharged excessive force issues. The problem with taser related deaths shouldhave been settled when Chief of Police Jeff Halstead negotiated with TASERInternational, the maker of the stun guns, to modify the design of their taserproduct, which would allow an automatic shut off after a 5-second burst. Butchange the weapon’s shut-off system does not change police abusive practices inits deployment. Tasers still kill, with or without a 5-second shutoff. And Dardenis the second taser related death since Michael Jacobs, Jr.

It should beevident here of a violation of police policy. According the WFAA 8 Jim Douglasreport, the weapon was deployed multiple times. What is not clear is whether oneofficer used the override on the 5-second cutoff or whether several tasers weredeployed at once. The incident is still under investigation.

Besides FWPDpolicy, whether officers complied with it or not, there are serious humanrights and constitutional questions about the right of the accused, and thenature of the heavy-handed gang buster tactics.

Human Rightsadvocates have always contended tasers to be torture in violation of the EightAmendment’s protection against cruel and unusual punishment. A victim being stunnedby 50,000 volts of electricity is equivalent to being electrocuted by highvoltage utility wires, or comparable to the electric chair.

Moreimportantly, however, is that a person has the right to life. No one should besummarily executed by electrocution at the whims of a law enforcement officer.This violates the First Amendment Right to life, and the Sixth Amendment Rightto Due Process.

It would befruitless, however, to argue constitutional rights issues with the same agency guiltyof the violations. If the agency cannot enforce its own policy and the Cityunable to protect the public, then monetary retribution should be exacted asheavily as possible. Corrections can and will be made, if liabilities for abusesof authority began to cost more than the City can willingly afford.

Of course, littledefense can be offer for Derrick Anthony Birdow who was tasered todeath while in the act of killing a preacher. Some might rationalize his death asjustifiable in the heat of the moment. But the point still stands: Tasers kill.And multiple jolts of 50,000 volts of electricity will kill with surety,something every FWPD officer should know. Thus, the killing of Darden shouldnot have come as a complete surprise to the deploying officer or officers.

Someone needs to be heldaccountable. First, there is the officer or officers who deployed the weapon orweapons. Was he or she or they criminally negligent? If they had full knowledgeof the Michael Jacobs tragedy, then they cannot claim ignorance.

Then there is the FWPD itself.Do loopholes in its policy allow for and exonerate such on-the-spot street summaryexecution of suspects, contrary to the constitutional rights of the suspect? Theofficer who tased Michael Jacobs to death claimed she did not know that holdingthe taser trigger down continued to shoot electricity into his body. Nobodyever told her, and TASER International never educated officers about the risks.What excuse can they offer now to exonerate them of their legal and criminalculpability?

The third party is the Cityof Fort Worth, who are obligated to back the police action and cover theirliabilities in cases where excessive force is employed. Shouldn’t they havelearned something from the Jacobs’s case? Didn’t they assure the community thatthis would never happen again where an innocent person would be tasered todeath?

Fourth, there is TASERInternational who falsely advertises tasers are non-lethal weapons. They arethe guiltiest insofar as they leave cities, like Fort Worth, to pick up thepieces, pay off the wrongful death suits, while they continue marketing theirproduct as if it does no harm.

There is a memorial south of Fort Worth filled withcrosses for those killed by tasers, named the Michael C. Jacobs, Jr. Memorial. The official death count nowstands at 779, with a cross for Jermaine Dardento be added. Here is a list of those who died by tasers in Fort Worth:

As for the investigation by theFWPD’s major-case unit and the Department’s heavy-handed “no knock” tactic thatallowed the police to kick open a family’s “unlocked door”, under the pretextof a big drug raid that eventually cost this disabled man his life, let’s see whatthey were after and what they netted for their effort:

Five people who werearrested:• [Suspect No. 1], age 25, suspected ofpossessing 1 to 4 grams of a controlled substance and 2 to 4 ounces ofmarijuana.• [Suspect No. 2], age 22, suspected ofpossessing less than 2 ounces of marijuana. Police also found that [Suspect No. 2] was wanted on twowarrants from other jurisdictions.• [Suspect No. 4], age 27, accused ofevading arrest and detention. [SuspectNo. 4] also had a warrant.• [Suspect No. 5], age 29, and [Suspect No. 6], age 29, both with classC warrants from Fort Worth. [Suspect No.6], who identified herself as Darden’s cousin, said she has an unpaidticket for talking on a cellphone while driving in a school zone.

In a police report, OfficerN.B. Danford was the one who drafted the probable-cause warrant to search forcocaine at the house. The “no-knock” warrant was signed by Tarrant CountyMagistrate Cheyenne Minick at 3:35 p.m. Thursday, according to the report.

The investigation should notbegin with the suspects, because there was never any really “big fish” in thisexpedition, only a few misdemeanor guppies at worst. So they kick down anunlocked door and kill a man for the above probable-causes.

No, the investigation shouldbegin at the determination level of probable cause and a criminal justicesystem that allows a magistrate who signed off on a “no-knock”(kick-the-door-down) raid to bag a few petty misdemeanor offenders.

Sunday, February 10, 2013

A Black ex-officer of the Los Angeles Police Department says that witnessing police brutality and fellow cops referring to Blacks using the "N" word prompted him to file reports against the officers in question. And then the LAPD fired him, accusing him of filing false reports, although no one has explained why Dorner would file a false report under circumstances or what he would have to gain by doing so.

The officer has drawn national attention to his case by promising to kill LAPD police officers involved, as well as members of their families, and by allegedly actually killing three people.
The New York Times linked to an online manifesto by the fired officer, Christopher J. Dorner, in which the ex-officer uses the word "nigger" eight times while describing how he and other Blacks were treated, in his presence, by members of the LAPD.

Ex-officer Dorner alleges that his present rampage is color-aroused and based in the color aroused ideation, emotion and behavior of people in the LA police department. However, the New York Times did not mention the color-aroused nature of the case until the LA Police acknowledged it and determined to reopen the investigation into Mr. Dorner's allegations.

The Los Angeles Police Department will reopen its investigation into the 2007 episode that led to the firing of Christopher J. Dorner, the former police officer who is wanted in three killings, department officials said Saturday night.
Mr. Dorner pledged revenge against Los Angeles police officers in a manifesto he posted online, in which he also claimed that racism in the department had led to his dismissal. He is wanted in connection with the killing of a former police captain’s daughter and her fiancé last Sunday and the shooting death of a Riverside, Calif., police officer on Thursday morning.

“I am aware of the ghosts of the L.A.P.D.’s past, and one of my biggest concerns is that they will be resurrected by Dorner’s allegations of racism within the department,” Chief Charlie Beck said in a written statement.

“Therefore, I feel we need to also publicly address Dorner’s allegations regarding his termination,” he said. “I do this not to appease a murderer. I do it to reassure the public that their Police Department is transparent and fair in all the things we do.”

The Times has, to my knowledge, failed to report the skin color of the victim of the alleged kicking incident, even though this fact might be essential to understanding Dorner's reaction to the incident and the LAPD's reaction to his complaint.

It seems possible that, as the facts are known, this case will prove to be a clear example of extreme color-aroused ideation, emotion, and behavior leading to abuses within the LAPD and then leading a Black man to fight those abuses in a way that shows that he, too, suffers from extreme color-aroused ideation, emotion and behavior.

Had the LAPD dealt with the allegations of Christopher J. Dorner more seriously when they occurred, whether they were based on fact or not, then this rampage might not have occurred.

Whether or not a fellow officer kicked a suspect who was on the ground, as Dorner alleges, the LAPD decision to fire him for even asserting that it happened would predictably dissuade other officers from reporting abuses they witnessed. That attitude on the part of the LAPD seems as though it might partially explain why Mr. Dorner believes a rampage is necessary. Dorner's reaction is not so strange when one recalls that that were generalized riots in LA in 1992 over similar questions of police brutality that was often color-aroused.

Thursday, February 7, 2013

The New York Times reports that a Black, male ex-LAPD officer and ex-Navy reservist has gone on a murderous rampage after explaining why in a essay he posted to the Internet. In the essay, Christopher Jordan Dorner, 33, asserts that feelings of powerlessness in the face of color-aroused LAPD behavior drove him to begin killing. The Times characterizes the ex-officer's explanation as "a rambling and threatening note"but the Times fails to report Dorners subjective belief that extreme color-arousal in the LAPD led to the killing spree.

Among the color-aroused incidents Dorney reports:

The internal affairs investigation in the academy involving Schefres was spurned by a complaint that I had initiated toward two fellow recruit/offifcers. While on a assigned patrol footbeat in Hollywood Division, Officers Hermilio Buridios IV and Marlon Magana (both current LAPD officers) decided that they would voice their personal feelings about the black community. While traveling back to the station in a 12 passenger van I heard Magana refer to another individual as a nigger. I wasn't sure if I heard correctly as there were many conversations in the van that was compiled of at least 8 officers and he was sitting in the very rear and me in the very front. Even with the multiple conversations and ambient noise I heard Officer Magana call an indivdual a nigger again. Now that I had confirmed it, I told Magana not to use that word again. I explained that it was a well known offensive word that should not be used by anyone. He replied, "I'll say it when I want". Officer Burdios, a friend of his, also stated that he would say nigger when he wanted. At that point I jumped over my front passenger seat and two other officers where I placed my hands around Burdios' neck and squeezed. I stated to Burdios, "Don't fucking say that". At that point there was pushing and shoving and we were separated by several other officers. What I should have done, was put a Winchester Ranger SXT 9mm 147 grain bullet in his skull and Officer Magana's skull. The Situation would have been resolved effective, immediately. The sad thing about this incident was that when Detective Ty from internal affairs investigated this incident only (1) officer (unknown) in the van other than myself had statements constistent with what actually happened. The other six officers (John Carey, Gary Parker, Jacob Waks, Abraham Schefres and names I have forgotten) all stated they heard nothing and saw nothing. Shame on every one of you. Shame on Detective Ty (same ethnicity as Burdios) for creating a separate 1.28 formal complaint against me (Schefres complaint) in retaliation for initiating the complaint against Burdios and Magana. Don't retaliate against honest officers for breaking your so called blue line. I hope your son Ryan Ty, who I knew, is a better officer than you, Detective Ty.The saddest part of this ordeal was that Officer Burdios and Magana were only given 22 day suspensions and are still LAPD officers to this day. That day, the LAPD stated that it is acceptable for fellow officers to call black officers niggers to their face and you will receive a slap on the wrist. Even sadder is that during that 22 day suspension Buridios and Magana received is that the LAPPL (Los Angeles Police Protective League) paid the officers their salaries while they were suspended. When I took a two day suspension for an accidental discharge, I took my suspension and never applied for a league salary. Its called integrity.

In a sense, it barely matters whether Dorner's accounts are true. It seems likely clear that color-aroused experiences, emotion and ideation play a significant role in his own understanding of why he has done what he has.

Monday, November 5, 2012

Copied and pasted from:TheYoungTurks, November 3, 2012.Although the media is keeping this minor's identity secret, a photograph of him shows white skin, which leads me to believe that these electrocution devices are increasingly being used on the white majority as well as Black and Latino minorities. However, although the boy's skin appears white-colored, he could still be a member of a Latino socio-chromatic group and/or the Black socio-political group and the police officer might have been aware of that when he decided how to interact with this boy. F.L.H.

"A 10-year-old boy attending a Tularosa, N.M., Intermediate School's Career Day expected it to be fun and educational, but instead he ended up in the emergency room.

The boy, identified as R.D., blacked out after receiving 50,000 volts of electricity when struck by a police officer's Taser gun.

Rachel Higgins, a guardian appointed by the court to protect the child's privacy filed a lawsuit Oct. 26 in 1st Judicial District Court in Santa Fe County against Police Officer Chris Webb and the New Mexico Department of Public Safety on behalf of R.D., claiming that Webb fired his electronic control weapon at the boy on May 4, 2012.

Higgins will appear in court to represent the boy because the family members live in a small town and do not want to reveal their identities.

The lawsuit claims police officers drove their patrol cars onto the intermediate school campus, where Webb asked a group of boys which one would like to clean his patrol unit.

R.D. raised his hand to say he did not want to clean the police officer's car.

Webb then said, according to the lawsuit, "Let me show what happens to people who do not listen to the police." He then "shot his Taser gun at the boy's chest," said the family's attorney Shannon Kennedy of the Kennedy Law Firm of Albuquerque."* Cenk Uygur and Ana Kasparian break down this story, calling for severe consequences for Officer Webb's reckless use of a taser on a child.